


The Night Court

by Wawadji



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Bella Swan Is In The Volturi, F/M, Family, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Post-Break Up, Sad Bella Swan, The Volturi (Twilight) is Good, Therapy, Volturi, immortal children, the volturi are slowly changing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 06:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29397951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wawadji/pseuds/Wawadji
Summary: Ever since the Cullen left, Bella had been cursed with both intense nightmare and strange flashbacks. Maybe going home to see some sun would do her good after all...It's not like she had any choice. Charlie made it clear : Jacksonville or the hospital.  There, in an old box with stuff from a childhood she's only starting to remember, she finds a postcast from Volterra. Why was she in Volterra, and why couldn't she remember? Somehow, this had something to do with the blond king...what was his name again...Caius.
Relationships: Athenadora/Caius (Twilight), Caius/Bella Swan, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Marcus/Bella Swan
Comments: 81
Kudos: 84





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, dear reader, a word.  
> Can we agree on the fact that Marcus and Caius were very, VERY strangely cast in the movies? Marcus is supposed to be looking 19 in the books, yet he’s portrayed by an older man, and Caius is portrayed by our national Adonis Jamie Campbell Bower, well in his early 20s, while his character is supposed to be looking 45...what happened there? Anyone?  
> So, I decided to keep Jamie, because of course he’s staying. But I’m recasting Timothée Chalamet as Marcus. Yes, I went there. And yes, I know he’s perfect for the part, I am aware. Brooding jaded teen mourning his long-lost love for millennia is just a part he was born to play.  
> I put Caius/ Bella and Marcus/Bella as pairing but those are not two romantic relationships (only one of them is…. You’ll see.)  
> I rated the fic M for mention of blood, gore and violence, and explicit sexual content  
> As always, comments are most welcome. I can’t wait to see what you think of this new fiction.

_ “WHERE IS SHE?” _

Caius still had the young Russian man’s blood on his lips as he rushed out of the throne room. It was sweet and tasted like lavender and sunshine. Caius had relished in every gulp he had sucked from the opened artery, his ancient venom paralyzing his prey into an overwhelming agony. The rush of bright euphoria had been so intense that he hadn’t seen his mate, Athenodora, retreat alone when everyone was still feeding. He had noticed only long minutes later when finally satiated he had searched for her eyes to see the bright red reflect her primal satisfaction, her joy, something he rarely saw these days. He had wanted to see a glimpse of the woman he loved. Only she was gone.

As he ran through the corridors and flight of stairs, he replayed the last image he’d seen before the hunter in him had overwhelmed his senses. She had set her gaze on a short black-haired woman holding tightly in her arms a ball of plaids, cradling it with a pleading look on her face. Caius pushed back the ominous feeling that threatened to overpower him and increased his speed as in reached the Consorts’ Tower.

The infant’s screams confirmed his suspicions long before he busted the door open and entered his wife’s private quarters.

There she was, beautiful and... heartbreaking. She was what a vampire suffering from anorexia would look like. Thin, so painfully thin and wasting away with her long blond hair adorning her beautiful face, like Hera, queen of the Gods of Olympus, only her eyes were pitch black as she hadn’t fed in weeks. Heidi had brought in a feast of fresh, sweet scented preys, and there wasn’t a drop of blood in her almond shaped eyes. Only despair and anguish.

And in her arm, a baby shrieking in pain.

The infant couldn’t be more than a year old, but its screams were as loud as those of a newborn, and definitely triggered by some unbearable torture. One look at his mate, and revelation struck him.

“What have you done, my love?” he told her in Greek, her favorite language.

“Please,” her eyes were those of a beggar in front of a church, seeking asylum. “Please let me have her”

A drop of venom was still shining at her lips. The screams of the infant intensified as the baby hands and feet trashed in all directions, trying to rid itself of the fire that was now slowly consuming it - her.

“We cannot make exceptions” Caius said softly, and his voice broke as he saw the effect his answered had on his mate, her face crumbling “We cannot violate the laws we forged ourselves. We must be exemplary, or else it would be chaos.”

“No one would know!” Her tone rose in hysteric pikes as panic reached her throat “It would be our secret. Please, let me have this one child.”

“Don’t you remember what immortal children are like? They are incapable of restraint, or of reason…”

“She would stay in the Tower with us!” She cried, still clinging to the hope that she could change his mind “With me! She would be mine, and she would keep me company when you leave the castle, or when Sulpicia decides to ignore me for a full decade again!”

Caius stretched one hand toward his mate and walked up slowly to her, as if she was a frightened animal...a frightened human he’d try to calm down. His eyes were now pleading “Are you that unhappy here? Am I not enough for you?”

Asking that was like stabbing himself with a red-hot dagger, plunging it to his frozen heart as he could see the answer in Athenodora’s eyes. Yes, she was unhappy. No, he was not enough. He hadn’t been for a long time.

Ever since Didyme had died, Aro and Caius had been living in the fear of being as crushed and paralyzed by everlasting grief as their brother Marcus had been. So Aro and Caius had decided that it would be better to protect their own mates from a similar fate. For the love that they felt, yes, but also for the responsibility they had to keep the peace in their world. Cruel as it may be, they simply couldn’t afford to crumble. And Corin had the convenient gift of dosing anyone with an addicting fix of contentment and satisfaction, so Sulpicia and Athenodora never suffered from their existence as forced housewives in their tower. Or so he had thought.

Because Corin was no Didyme. Corin couldn’t actually make you happy by simply standing in the room. Corin was just a drug dealer, and Athenodora had been building a tolerance for the contentment dose over the centuries. The effect had worn off, and with it the illusion that she had been staying inside and heavily guarded willingly, that she was just shy and liked it better that way. The betrayal of having her free will taken away from her had turned into the guilt of being a source of stress to him, depression, feeling of worthlessness, and finally intense loneliness. She had accepted her fate and now simply wanted a companion.

Caius had tried to alleviate her life imprisonment sentence. As much as he feared for her safety, seeing her resent him and waste away was a far worse torture. But Aro didn’t feel the same. He liked her guarded at all time, his prized possession, and he didn’t want to take her companion away from her. His love for Sulpicia resembled more a sense of ownership to a true mating bond, Marcus had once told him. He had taken her in as an orphan girl and groomed her into accepting the life of a vampire wife and that was all she’s ever been since then. Maybe it was because her mind had been molded like clay since she was a human girl, but she hadn’t built any resistance to Corin’s gift, even after centuries of prolonged exposure, and was perfectly happy to be Aro’s prisoner. Aro had Chelsea wrapped around his finger, and Caius was dragged along by the fake loyalty she forced out of him and even made him feel grateful when Aro conceded to at least let the wives eat with the rest of them.

Only she’d used that opportunity to snatch a human baby from her mother’s arm and run to her chambers to bite it. To commit one of the most sacred taboo of their kind. To create an Immortal Child. And now the infant’s shrieks were about to alert the entire Court.

If she wasn’t his mate, she’d be dead already. Destroyed and burnt that very hour. He tried not to think about that.

“Athena…” he said softly, his honeyed voice coaxing her lovingly “Athenodora, my sweetest, dearest sunshine of eternity.” her yes trembled as his words seemed to tug at the invisible tether that bonded them together. “You know that I am yours already. You know that there isn’t a treasure the Gods could demand me to exhume from the grave of civilization that I wouldn’t dig up for them in exchange for your happiness. You know that you are constantly on my mind, no matter where my duties send me” she was shaking now, as he kept stepping closer and closer to her, his gaze locked on hers. “You also know there are lines. Sacred lines.” She shook her head feverishly as he gracefully stretched both his arms toward her “Now, give me the child.”

“Caius, I beg you” her voice was broken in a hopeless plea.

“You know it must be done, Athena…” his fingertips where merely inches from the child’s little foot “Come, now. You’re only hurting her.”

That was the final blow, the one that pierced her resolve. With one last longing look at the infant, she let her mate pull the baby girl from her arm, and slid to the floor with her face in her hands, a sculpture of agony.

Caius looked deep into the little human girl’s warm brown eyes, so soft, so fragile and small. And with the lightest of pressure of his fingertips, he broke her skull. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here was the prologue of this fiction. The relationship between Caius and Athenodora is also going to be important in this fiction so I wanted to start with that.  
> Don’t forget to comment and tell me what you think.  
> I’ve got the first 11 chapters planned out already, so you should have regular updates don’t worry.


	2. Chapter 1 : Wakeup Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time for Bella to wake up and seek help

She had thought her tantrum had scared the doctors away in September. How foolish of her to think Charlie wasn’t every little bit as stubborn as she was. He had merely been giving her some time to improve on her own, but as January 1st peaked through the clouds of Forks, her dad woke her up with the - _thump_ \- of a heavy suitcase being thrown on her bed at her feet.

“It has been 4 months, Bella. You have lost 20 pounds; you wake up every night screaming in pain and misery and you’ve isolated yourself from all of your friends at school.”

“Charl--” she grumbled, trying to wake up

“No, Bella, I will not hear of it.” He continued, opening the nearest drawer and throwing random clothes into the suitcase “I will not have my daughter waste away and die in her bed because some unloving, selfish, irresponsible -”

“Charlie please” she said, straightening up with a sudden understanding of the situation.

“- young man who didn’t even have the decency to walk you home after breaking your heart.” He finally looked at her, and she was stunned by the emotion in his eyes. “You know I do not talk much Bella, but-” his mustache trembled for a second “-but that doesn’t mean I don’t think, or feel and I will not…” He had to look up at the ceiling and blink a few times before continuing “I will not be the one to find you cold and dead one morning. You need help, and I will get you help whether you like it or not.”

The hole in her chest screamed in a hungry panic. He was really doing it. He was sending her away. She jumped out of bed and was about to snap some convincing protest though the flashing stars in her eyes, when her knees gave up and Charlie caught her arms in a firm hold.

“You see what I mean, Bella? You can’t even stand up without fainting. This isn’t normal.”

She was chocking, incapable of formulating a decent come back. She felt dizzy and held her head with both hands as Charlie sat her back down on the bed. She needed to come up with a response, and fast before he could show an even stronger resolve. He took her silence as encouragement to continue his sermon, and went on.

“I know how horrible a break up can be. When Renée left with you...I thought I would never recover. I swore I would never love again, and well” he trailed off “...but with time -”

Time. No, she couldn’t bear to hear about this Time Heals All Wounds mantra that obviously didn’t apply to her. She turned her head away from Charlie’s face, incapable of hearing any more of his sermon. But he kept his firm grip on her arms and continued

“with time it got better, life carried on, even as my own daughter was living hundreds of miles away from me. You... It is like you’re a dead person walking. I’m worried Bella, I really am worried.”

“I’m fine Charlie-” she trailed off as she couldn’t even muster up the energy to lie. _Why was he doing this to her?_

“Like hell you are. Do you think I’m blind Bella? This...this grief, it’s like it’s eating you up from the inside. It’s literally devouring you; I mean look at you! You’re sick Bella, you need help.”

Gosh, she really hadn’t been fooling him at all. And she thought that she had done a pretty good job at and staying on Autopilot Mode and pretending that her life wasn’t over. Turns out that she was still an open book. she didn’t even make a sound as tears flowed down my cheeks.

“Please…” a mere whimper. “Please don’t do this to me dad…”

His hands were shaking, but they kept holding her firmly. His voice was hoarse when he said “I’m doing this for you, Bells.”

“I will get better, I will do better, please, I’m sorry” she managed to say

He sighed “Bella look at yourself. You’re apologizing to me for being miserable. This is not your fault, none of this is your fault” his eyes briefly flashed with anger as he continued “It’s all because of this Cul--”

“Please, dad. Don’t say that. It’s not his fault…” she still couldn’t bear to hear his name.

He stood up quickly, a look of consternation on his face “You see, that is exactly why you need to leave this place. After everything, eveything, you keep defending him! You don’t take care of yourself, you don’t eat, you don’t sleep, you don’t see your friends, but you are guarding his reputation as if this was your sole purpose in life! You think I don’t know why you’re so adamant on staying here Bells? Do you think I’m so stupid? He’s not coming back!” This was probably the longest speech Charlie Swan had ever performed, but he’s had four months to prepare it and rehearse it and he had enough anger to fuel his tongue for hours. “So, you are going to Jacksonville, and you are getting the help that you need! If my daughter breaks her legs, she going to get surgery, and if some narcissist breaks her spirit, she’s going to get therapy!”


	3. Chapter 2: Jacksonville

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella reunites with her mom

She had missed the sun, that much was true. But stepping off the plane and feeling the warm air welcome her on the way to the terminal, Bella couldn't help but to feel as though her skin was too tight on her bones. She had been raised in a much warmer environment, and yet she knew that the girl who hated the green cover of cold moss and longed for the cactuses and open sky didn't exist anymore. She was now girl who knew far too well that it was too sunny for her to ever walk into _him_ by chance, and whose only wish was to go back to that one place where she could still entertain that fantasy, where she could hope and where she could breathe. But there was no vampire in Florida.

Renée was waiting for her at the airport, beaming from ear to ear when she saw her, a **"Welcome Home"** sign raised high above her head. The closer Bella walked toward her, however, the fainter her smile dimmed. _Oh God_ , Bella thought. Did she really look that bad?

A silvery light rimmed her mother eyes as she simply hugged her without a word. The embrace was long, and tighter than usual. Renée was shaking. "Mom...are you alright?"

"No, Bella, no I'm not. How could I be?" Her beautiful voice broke into sobs. Bella patted her mother's back. "I'm here now Mom. I'm sorry I made you worry."

One of the many things she loved about her mother, was that she didn't need to contribute much to the conversation. They spent most of the drive talking about the house, the beach, Phil's new job, her kindergarten and all her little children she keeps spoiling rotten with hugs and kisses all day long. All the trouble she's already been in for "not being reliable enough" and how it was all completely unfair. How the fact that her coworker seemed to see her as one more kid to watch and protect was just so silly and "she couldn't possibly be that childish, they are just jealous all the kids like to play with her". Bella didn't really have to say much more than "is that so" and "oh, really?" and they were good for hours on end. It was refreshing. The last thing she needed was someone asking her how she's feeling.

"Your father told me about this shrink he called, here in Jacksonville. Dr O'Neil." So much for avoiding the subject, Bella thought with a sigh "He said since you're 18 he can't force you to get treated unless you're a danger to yourself of others. He said you really need therapy." She glanced at her. "What do you think?"

"I'm fine, Mom." She replied, and hoped to be convincing enough "Charlie is being overdramatic".

"Huh…" She pondered a moment and said "I still think you should listen to him and go, just once at least." and added before Bella could protest "Therapy was a package deal for you to stay here, Bells." Bella glared at Renee. Was she actually telling her she wouldn't hesitate to throw her out if she refused to go? Or was her coming to Jacksonville an inconvenience after all?

The yoga mat, cushions and stretching balls had been pushed to a corner of the room, along with plants and boxes next to a big Buddha statue welcoming her with a mysterious half smile and an open hand. A convertible couch had been dragged in the middle hastily and other boxes with "Bella" written on them in black sharpie told her Renée had had little time to arrange her arrival. Yes, she was definitely a hindrance there.

"I had your old stuff taken from the garage. You wouldn't believe how heavy some of them are, Bella. How many books do you own anyway" She said with a dry laugh.

"Thanks mom" She said softly. Somehow this was giving her a strange dejavu feeling of when she had moved to forks a year ago. Only the bedroom in Charlie's place had always been meant for her.

"I usually use this room for yoga and Pilates in the morning, the light is really clean in this room, it's good for your mind." She added "You know while you're doing therapy, you can join me. A little meditation goes a long way."

"Yeah..." Bella nodded blankly.

"But I've got to tell you dear, if that doctor tells you to take meds, against... you know...depression or stress, you really don't have to. Those chemical will destroy you."

"Hum...sure" What else could she answer to that. When had Renee been so into new age anyway? Though he guessed it was just like her, as she loved to try new things and explore. As long as it makes her happy.

Diner was vegan, another new thing about Renee. Bella was surprised how much not calling for four months could turn into "your mother becoming a brand new person while you look away" Renée let her do the dishes while Phil walked in the doorway, greeting her with open arm and a passionate kiss. Bella had to look away, a pang of grief tearing her chest open again. She had always been happy for her mother when she found her new lover that made her feel so young and adventurous again. But in that instant, the vibrancy of their intimacy was too bright to look at. She nearly burnt her hands in the dish water, and didn't care one second.

She went to bed early, and Renee looked at her with a grateful smile, as if she thought she was leaving for their benefit. She buried herself under the cover and let the darkness swallow her before the void in her chest could start screaming.

The nightmare were always the same, she thought. Same cold night, same empty forest, same feeling of restlessness, same unfaltering void and abyss at the end. Yet, there was always a moment, just before the end of the nightmare, when an image would shine in her mind for a split second.

_**Grey cloaks surrounding her. Marble floor, high ceiling, painting on the walls. A Garden, sunlight. A man in a black cloak hold her hand, but she cannot see his face. He is tall...or she is small, tiny, like a child. The hood of the cloak falls on his shoulder, revealing…** _

Bright light, and she's in the woods again. Alone. In the dark. Forsaken.

That's usually when the screaming starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter was all about Renee's self-centered behaviour, and I just know she’d somehow make Bella’s distress all about her and tell her that meditation is better than therapy, I just know that this is her vibe. But! But, I am by no means against meditation or spirituality, I love it actually. I just value mental and a good doctor as much as a healthy lifestyle.


	4. Dr Susan O'Neil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella goes to see a therapist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three chapters in 3 days, what do you know? Haha don’t worry, I used to be one who burns bright and then burns out, but I have almost the entire fiction planned out chapter for chapter, and too much free time at work...so you’ll get the entire story, don’t fret.

The office had everything you’d expect at a therapist’s: an extensive library filling an entire wall, a mahogany desk, armchairs in various places, a sofa, non-committing abstract artworks, and even a little Zen garden you can play with to make pattern in the sand with the wooden spatula. Bella felt utterly awkward as the relatively young woman (maybe mid-thirties) started at her from behind her desk with a smile that screamed “I’m here to listen”

Only she had hardly anything to say. 

“Miss Swan - can I call you Isabella?”

“Bella is fine” was the reflex answer she gave her. 

“Bella” she corrected with a warmer smile “Your father called me because it seemed you have been having trouble adjusting to your separation with your boyfriend.”

“Yes.” Bella shifted in her seat. 

“Would you like to tell me what happened?”

Her smile was inviting. He emoted an energy that resembled the way Jasper would look at her to calm her down. Maybe this affableness was a trick of the trade, she thought, then guessing that Jasper would have made a really good therapist. Looking up, she realized Dr O’Neil - Susan - was still waiting for an answer. 

“I’m not sure…” Was her honest answer “I don’t know how far I can...explain” 

She was met with a puzzled look “Bella, everything you say here is doctor-patient privilege”

Yeah, but admitting to consorting with vampires was a one-way ticket to Crazy Zone. Susan went on “But you don’t have to go into details today. Just explain however you can.” 

“Well…” Where should she begin “His name was Ed... Edmond.” she saw one eyebrow rise almost unperceivably and wondered if she could tell she just made that up “He was in my high school.” She fought the nausea that gripped her stomach as images of their first meeting went flashing in her mind against her will.

“He was really handsome, but always stayed with his siblings, never mingling with other students. We sat together in biology and, that’s how we met.” She cut the part when he almost killed her that first day. “He. He saved me from being almost crushed by a car, and we became closer after that. He…” she had to steady her breath as the emotion were threatening to take her voice “he was really intense, and protective. I couldn’t believe someone like him could be interested in me.” again Susan eyebrows twitched but she didn’t interrupt “he was amazing. We spent all of our time together, just the two of us, and he introduced me to his family. They were all great but…” she hesitated a moment, thinking about how to phrase it. “They have a different lifestyle, that set them apart...I can’t really talk about it” She looked up from her hands to check Susan’s reaction, but she was still open and waited for her to resume her tale. So, she did. “He thought that this lifestyle was something he couldn’t share with me, that it would...put me at risk. I wanted to try it but he...he didn’t want me to. In the end, he told me that he was tired of having to constantly adjust to me and put up with our differences.” She was clenching her teeth, fighting the tears. “So, he left. They all left. I don’t know where they are.” 

There was a long silence. Susan probably waited to be sure she was done talking. Eventually she said “And how have you been doing ever since they left?” 

“Fine” she said too quickly, dismissively. Susan raised a suspicious eyebrow and Bella sighed “I supposed I... have been having trouble eating and... sleeping.”

“You are remarkably skinnier than you should be, in regards to your heigh, from what I can see...Have you lost a lot of weight?”

“Around...20 pounds”

“In four months?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you are having trouble falling asleep?” she assumed, looking at my dark circles. 

“No, but...I have nightmares.”

“Every night?”

“Most nights.”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

 _No..._ but Bella figured that wasn’t an acceptable answer. So, she went on

“Some of it is always the same. I’m alone in a dark forest and I can’t find my way. I feel like I’m falling. It makes me really scared. I always wake up screaming or crying.” 

At that, Susan had to look through her notes before she said “Bella, in your medical file, I see that there is a police report saying you were found unconscious in a forest and stayed on bedrest with daily medical visits for a week after that.” Her heart fell to her stomach. _They actually had a file about that?_ “Did the nightmares start after that day?” 

She nodded “That was the night. The night they left.”

Their eyes met, and Susan straightened her glasses “Why were you in the forest?”

“I was...well, we had to talk in private. Then after he left, I was in a daze, I kept walking. After a moment I realized I was lost.” Part of her tried to dissipate any misunderstanding “You file isn’t correct; I wasn’t really unconscious. I think I was just tired. I didn’t have any energy after walking. You could say I was...in shock” gosh she made it sound much worse than it was. “It’s really **_my fault_** , you see, I didn’t know where I was going and I just…” She trailed off, surprised by the look of concern on Susan’s eyes. 

**_“He left you in the woods?”_ **

She heard the scandalized undertone of her voice, so Bella rectified “It wasn’t like that. He probably didn’t know I would try to follow him. We didn’t go that deep in the forest, I’m the one who went too far after that. It’s not his fault.”

Susan’s brows narrowed and she wrote something on her notebook. Bella tried to read upside down but she snapped the book shut a second later. 

“Bella, I have to ask. When you said his family had a different lifestyle, and that he thought you could be at risk because of it...have you ever found that to be true?”

“What?” 

“ ** _Have you ever felt unsafe, or in danger, when you were in their company, or because of anything related to their lifestyle?”_**

Bella thought of the first time their eyes met in biology, of the way Rosalie turned to glare at her in the cafeteria, of that day in field, with Laurent, James and Victoria. Of the mirror room. Of her birthday, when a mere papercut disrupted the peace. 

“Of course, many times...”

“Many times?” 

“Yes, but...but it’s not their fault, they can’t help it. **_I’m the one that’s inadequate_**. That’s why I wanted to...to change, for them, to make it easier. But…”

“But he didn’t want you to.” She concluded.

“Yes.”

“ ** _He decided to end the relationship instead_**.” 

“Yes”

“And then left you in the woods. Alone and so distraught that by the time someone found you, you were unconscious-”

“Almost unconscious”

“ _Almost_ , unconscious, crying, and suffering from severe hypothermia and dehydration.”

“I was?”

“Yes, Bella, it’s written right there in your medical file. You don’t remember receiving an IV?” 

Bella had to search hard, but that first week was really difficult to recall. It was as if her mind always blocked her, or tried to distract her away from the memories. But if she focused hard enough, it’s true they attached a tube to her arm at some point. She nodded “It’s all a bit foggy. That first week after they left. They said I was almost catatonic.” 

Susan nodded. “Bella, from everything you’re telling me - and I can tell there is a great deal you’re not telling me - I can sense that there were many things that made your relationship with this...Edmond, really unbalanced. The intensity of the relationship to someone that’s mostly asocial or keeps to himself or his family; you said you always spent time alone, but that you felt inadequate and wanted to change for him, but that you were also - many times- put in an unsafe situation because of him - or his lifestyle” she rectified after seeing the way Bella glared at her “it all seem a bit unhealthy. Some of these very fusional and unbalanced relationships can be quite addictive, and the danger only adds to the thrill. To the point that when it ends, the fall can be devastative.” 

Suddenly Bella was reminded of a quote from the book they use to talk about; 

**_“These violent delights have violent ends”_ **

Susan nodded with a smile “Exactly. You like Shakespeare?” Bella nodded. “After Romeo is exiled, Juliet says that it would have been better for him to die. in death, Juliet could join him, but with him banished, she had to live her life knowing that he is there, somewhere, and she can never see him again.”

The void in her chest echoed in understanding. Bella looked up to meet Susan’s gaze. “Then’ she went on “When her parents tell her to move on and marry someone else, she turns to a priest to fake her death, because she cannot imagine a life where she would love another.”

“When you’ve been with someone like that, there is no going back” Bella whispered, ignoring the tear that had fallen on her cheek just as she said that. “I know it sounds childish, and that Time Heals and all that but...I for me it’s true, it really is.” 

Susan nodded. “Is that how you feel Bella? As if death would be better than moving on?” 

She swiftly wiped her cheek and took a tissue from the box on the mahogany desk **_“If you’re asking me if I’m suicidal, I’m not. I just know that, to some extent, my life is over. It’s like my heart had one love to give and now that it’s given, there is nothing left.”_** To this Susan gave her an empathizing smile “I’m glad you’re not thinking about death. You can tell me if you ever do. Take my card, I have an emergency number.” she added, pointing to a stock on cards on the desk. Bella took one just in case and Susan’s eyes narrowed. “But would you believe me if I told you that you are not the first person to go through this? I do think that these feelings can pass, but the journey can be a long and painful one, and that’s where I come in. I’m here to make sure your recovery time isn’t turning into something else, in short, I’m here to make sure you do recover. If you let me.”

“That’s the thing,” Bella said with a joyless laugh “I’m not sure I want to.” 

“I know.” She said with a soft voice. “And yet here you are.” 

“Because my parents forced me to come” Bella snaped. She immediately regretted her tone. 

* * *

Susan pursed her lips for an instant. The therapist considered going on with the current conversation but thought it would make her too defensive for a first appointment. Then, remembering something Bella said earlier, she asked “Bella, what did you mean by ‘part of it was in a forest’? Do your nightmare include other recurring elements?”

To Susan’s satisfaction, Bella’s eye lit up, obviously more than eager to divert the conversation from the most painful subject. “Yes, I seem to be always dreaming being in a very strange and old looking place...In the dream, I’m a child, and there were people surrounding me, but I can’t make out there faces, they are all wearing cloaks...There is a man holding my hand but like the others his face isn’t visible. We are heading to a bright garden, and I can almost see the man’s face, but then I’m taken back to the forest. That’s usually when all my emotions just explode and I wake up either crying or even screaming.”

Wrong choice of diversion, Susan thought. She had nothing. She could just brush it off as a non sensical dream, if there was such a thing, but if she understood her well, it seemed to be a recurrent thing. Maybe a memory…? “Is any of the details reminding you of something, a place you’ve been in the past maybe?” She really didn’t want to imply that there was some traumatic amnesia going on, not on the first appointment. But Bella answered “Well, I have a very foggy memory of my life before we moved to Phoenix with my mom, so maybe it is a place I’ve visited, but I can’t be sure.” To this Susan had the misfortune to ask “How old where you when you moved to Phoenix?” 

**“Seven years old”**

“So, you don’t remember _anything_ before that age?” She was almost sorry to ask. They really were going to the direction of traumatic amnesia and that’s a whole lot of research she’d have to do, because that was not her thesis. She had accepted this patient as a teenage post break up depression, which she had plenty of professional experience dealing with. She’d have to consult with Michael. He’s done some of his clinical time with a specialist on the subject of amnesia as a symptom, so he might have some leads to send her way. 

“Well, I do remember a few things, but the little things I do remember are all foggy and weird.” She shook her head, as if she was dismissive...or uncomfortable. 

Dang it. They were definitely heading there. Grief after an addictive codependent relationship with a controlling partner - and maybe even abusive, what did she mean about feeling unsafe? They would definitely have to go there as well, eventually - while you’re in your formative years is already a whole lot to deal with but with memories resurfacing in the middle of the night, it’s no wonder her mind is eating her body. That poor girl. Susan looked at the hollowed face. She was certainly beautiful in normal circumstance; she was sure of it. But now her skin was greyish and her eyes were surrounded by purple circles, and even her hair looked malnourished. 

That first appointment was an assessment to see how many sessions they might need, but Susan could see this was going to take some time. Months, maybe even a year, depending on how actively she would try to heal. Her father had agreed to fund the entire process, no matter how long it would take, bless him “Bella, I’d like to see you again next week. Would same day same hour be good for you?” 

* * *

They made an appointment, and Bella took the bus home. She missed her truck. She had to find a new part time job as soon as possible to save up for a new car. She sat at the back of the bus, just behind a group of students wearing black hoodies, immersed in a lively conversation about a concert they planned to go to. From her pocket, she pulled out the card Susan had urged her to take, in case she ever felt like...dying. She wondered how she would react if she told her that her biggest dream would be for her heart to stop beating, for her skin to turn cold and hard like that of a corpse, and for her stronger desire in life to be...blood. 

Two things happened at the same time. As she as raising her head, the golden light of the evening sun pierced through the bus windows and in her direction, while at the same time, one of the students in front of her tilted his head back with a laugh and his black hood fell on his shoulders, revealing locks of blond hair that glowed as the sun hit his face with its dazzling light.

The sense of Deja vu was like nothing she’s ever experienced. It was like her eyes were opened wider, and on top of this very human laughing face, she saw another. Another head with blond curls under a black hood. The hood of a back cloak, from her dreams. Only that face was nothing like that of the young man in front of her. That face was more angular, and infinitely more beautiful to an unreal extreme. And as his bright red eyes slid shut, the sun reached his face to make it sparkle fantastically, like a million diamonds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So! That was…something.   
> Look, I am not a registered therapist, so it’s probably not a hundred percent accurate, but I still like this Susan girl, what do you think? Do you want to hear from her again? She was supposed to only be a transition character until Bella finally goes to Volterra, but I’m thinking of arranging for her to stay as a regular. Something tells me that having a therapist on the phone once in a while could be beneficial for Bella. Let me know if you want Susan to stay and I’ll see what I can do. I have most of the fiction planned out already, but I can squeeze her in.


	5. Memory Lane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella tried to draw her dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, I know, I am being extra proficient: another chapter! Would you believe me if I told you that chapter 5 is already written, and chapter 6 is the one I’m currently working on? I am just so motivated by your enthusiasm in this fiction: it has barely begun, and so many of you added it to your favorite already, it’s literally fueling me.

She didn’t even hear Renée ask her about how her first therapy appointment as she stumbled into the house, just vaguely mumbled something to serve as answer before closing the yoga room door behind her. That’s when she crumbled on the wooden floor. 

The blond vampire’s face was still on her mind. It hadn’t left her since she first saw it superimposed on the young student’s face. An angular face, with a flawless fair skin sparkling in the sun, blond curls hanging on his shoulder like that of a Greek God, and bright red eyes gleaming with mirth. 

It wasn’t his beauty that had shocked her, but rather the overwhelming feeling that had taken over her as the image at struck her mind. She had felt the warmest attraction, a strong urge to embrace the stranger in front of her, to curl up on his lap and cry on his shoulder. The strength of the pull had swallowed the void in her chest, and for a short instant she had not felt as uneasy as usual. How could she be feeling this way toward a human blood drinking vampire that she had never seen before? Unless she had indeed met him in the past, like Susan had suggested. The Deja-vu had been stronger than anything she had ever felt, and she couldn’t ignore it. It was obsessing her, telling her to look further. 

“Also, why did I dream of him?” she whispered to herself.

That was the most important question. It wasn’t just that she had had a deja vu impression when seeing the young man in the bus, no. She had seen that man...that vampire, in a black cloak over and over almost every night since that day. That day just after her 18th birthday, in the forest. Among the nightmare, that flash of dream - or recollection, as it might be - was the brightest, almost a peaceful break in the horror, though mixed with puzzling feelings she didn’t really have time to process, as the image rarely lasted longer than a few seconds. Surely, Bella thought, if she were to dream of any vampire, surely that would be _him_. But then instead, why did she always see this strange Apollo, this fascinating mystery, holding her tiny hand as if she was a young child guided along corridors and gardens? Was it really just a dream? Or did she actually meet that vampire as a child? 

Bella shuddered, not certain that she wanted to know how she could have wound up as a child in the hands of a red eyed vampire...and survive to tell the tale. 

And yet, she had to know. 

She searched through one of the boxes with her name on it, looking for something to draw with, when she found an old sketchbook. Most pages where dawn on, she could tell by the buckling edges, so she opened directly at the last page without looking and started sketching. She first drew the dark cloaked figure, and then focused on the face. That part was much harder, as if the moment she would try to recollect the image in her mind, it would vanish. She sketched up a face that looked young, possibly early twenties, though there was of course no way to tell the actual age. She found colored pencil to draw out the curls of his hair, wavering behind his head as if he often slid a hand in it to clear the strands off his brow, purplish circles under his eyes, just a few pale strokes really, and the vibrant red eyes. She was almost done making out the playful smile when she hears someone clear their throat. 

“I haven’t seen you draw like that in ages.” Renée said, leaning against the doorframe. “You always doodle of course, but I haven’t seen you actually try to really draw something since you were...I don’t know, maybe twelve?”

“Really?” Bella said, genuinely surprised. She hadn’t noticed she had lost the habit, but now that she was thinking about it, it was true that she was once extremely invested in sketching and painting. She wondered where that had gone. 

“Did you paint back in Forks?” Renée asked. 

“No, not really.” She ran a hand in her hair “Like you said, doodling, nothing much.”

“Hum…” Renée sat down on the floor next to her, and Bella folded her knees closer to her chest. Her mother peeked over her shoulder and said with a little laugh “I see you went back to your old character.” 

“What do you mean?”

Her mother looked at her with a nostalgic look “Don’t you remember when you were a child, you always kept drawing that same blond man with red eyes, exactly like this one. Yes, you see,” she pointed toward the sketch “with the black cloak.”

Bella gaped at her. “You mean I’ve been drawing this before?”

This time Renée’s puzzled gaze bordered on concern “You really don’t remember?” She took the sketchbook off her hand and flipped it on the other side, opening it to the first page and starting the browse through old sketches, when she finally stopped. “Here, you see.” and handing it back to her, she watches her react as Bella’s mouth falls open. 

There he was, in a rough sketch drawn with untrained hands. That same vampire. Blond, red eyed. Black cloak. Over and over and over. His portraits and poses were all over the sketchbook. And she had no recollection of ever drawing them. “When did I do this?”

“Hum...I think you had this one at 11. But there are more in the boxes. You used to draw so much as a kid, and I always kept all your notebooks.” 

Bella glanced at the pile of boxes in the corner of the room, and wondered if one of them contained the explanation to her dreams...her memories. 

“Phil and I are going out to see the last Christopher Nolan.” Renée said “You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.” 

It was obvious she would prefer some alone time. “No, you two go on your date, mom. I think I’m going to stay here tonight.” She said with a small voice, not tearing her eyes away from the sketches. 

“Thanks sweetie.” Renée kissed her hair before skipping out the yoga room to go and tell Phil they were good to go. 

The door wasn’t even fully closed that Bella was already digging up through the various boxed, exhuming ever since notebooks and sketchbook she could find. Gosh, Renée didn’t lie when she said she had been an art nerd a kid. And she thought her passion in life was reading, but why didn’t she remember all of these art supplies? You could open a small shop. 

On each page, alongside other doodles, that same blond man with red eyes, drawn with various degree of proficiency. Standing up, sitting down, wearing either his black cloak or a black suit. The more she would browse through her sketches, the more detail she could catch. The eyes were either black or red, he would be wearing a golden chain with a V shaped pendant, holding each edges of his cloak together. Other figures were sometimes drawn next to him, and - exactly like her dreams would show - their cloak would be all shades of grey.

One attracted her attention. In this one, the blond vampire was sitting on a sturdy armchair, that looked almost like a throne and next to him were two other sitting on thrones similar to his. One looked much older, it her childhood drawing gave him any justice, and had long black hair falling to his shoulders, while the other looked like a young man with short curls hiding his ears. All three of them had bright red eyes, and golden chains with V shaped pendant around their neck. 

**_“Bella, put that book down”_ **

Bella’s heart seemed to skip a beat. A cold steel hand clutched her stomach as she recognizes the velvet voice that she knew much too well. A voice she thought she’d never hear before. But even as she was swirling her head around and out the window, she knew that this was impossible for him to actually be here, next to her. She knew it, and yet, her heart had leapt when she heard his voice. Somehow the silence that had followed was worse. She clenched her chest and lied down on the bed, closing her eyes and trying to count to ten with each breath. In...1 2 3 4 5 Out...6 7 8 9 10...In…

They were in the garden. The sun was bright, but that wasn’t what was dazzling her. Her eyes were marveling at the crystalline reflection on his skin. He laughed and ran a hand through his golden hair **_“A cosa stai pensando, piccola?”_** he said with the musical voice of a young man, and maybe it was because it was all a dream, for she never had any Italian classes, but she just knew it meant “What are you thinking about, little one?” 

She heard herself answer with the high voice of a little girl **_“Caius, you have glitter on your face” and_** he threw his head back to let out a laugh so magical it shouldn’t even exist, the sky shone brightest, and light surrounded her and she woke up. 

She laid there, staring at the ceiling, as sudden realization dawned on her. She knew why those three vampires had seemed so familiar earlier. She had seen them, painted by an artist she couldn’t remember, in Carlisle’s office. A few months back, Edward had mentioned them. They lived in Italy, and now Bella knew exactly what the V on their neck stook for. 

**Aro, Marcus and...Caius.**

**The Volturi.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There it is: the cat is out of the bag.  
> As you’ve seen in the prologue, I don’t intend to Google Translate every dialogue into Greek or Italian, instead it will all be mostly English. But I thought, as Bella is slowly remembering stuff, it would be interesting to hear her recognize the language.  
> I’m dying to see what you’ll think of this chapter. Please write your feedback in the comment section below, and don’t forget to come back tomorrow: Chapter 5 is already done and ready!


	6. Correspondence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella tries to find out her ties with the Volturi

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know that you are getting impatient: when is she actually going to go to Volterra, right? Well, just be a little more patient; all in due time. I have most of the fiction planned out, and don’t worry, you’ll get your treat.  
> Did I mention it was a slow burn?

The Volturi were the vampire lore equivalent to royalty, he had once told her. Carlisle had spent a few decades with them, before making his own family. He had described them as sophisticated, refined and most of all ruthless. The most powerful of all the covens in the world, the one who made the rules and enforced them. “No one provoked the Volturi, unless they wanted to die.” That was what he had said once. 

And yet, in that garden, that blond vampire was laughing playfully at her. Caius. “Piccola” that was what he had called her. Little One. The ruthless king of the underworld called her “Little One”. She wondered...

_“Bella, do not be reckless. Stay away from them.”_

She sat up in a heartbeat, his voice still echoing in the back of her mind. “Why?” She answered aloud. “Why should I stay away?”

“Did you say something dear?” Renée called from the hallway. 

She jumped out of bed. Had she slept that long that they were already back? She checked the time, and it was well over 11pm. She went up to greet them. “No, I was talking to myself.” _Like a crazy person._

“Oh,” Renée said. “Okay. Phil and I already ate, there was this crazy thing outside, you should have seen it, they were playing music and there was street food, I think it was... what? Mexican...Barbadian, yes, that’s it. Anyway, it was delicious, we got you some take out so that you could try it…. Bells are you listening?” 

Bella had to shake her head a little to come out of her daze. In her mind, the musical laughter of Caius kept ringing, and it was the loveliest memory in the entire universe, so beautiful it made her a little sad. Not sad like the familiar and unforgiving beastly void in her chest devouring her from the inside, no, but sad like a gentle little tug, a siren call telling her _“come and find me”_

“Sorry mom, I’m just waking up from a nap, I think I’m still a bit under…”

“At this hour?” Renée chided her while hanging her clothes “Gosh, Bella, you won’t blink tonight, what were you thinking!”

“Sorry…” She said sheepishly 

“My goodness Bella what will I do with you, you’re usually the responsible one here” She wasn’t even joking. “Make yourself some herbal tea before bed, Phil and I are going to sleep.”

The kettle was whistling a few minutes later, and Bella has spread all the notebook and sketchbooks on the table browsing through them with this newfound revelation. It all seemed so obvious now. That man over there with the long dark hair was Aro. Apparently, he was supposed to be in his thirties when he was turned, though the drawing looked nothing like the beautiful piece in Carlisle’s office. And next to him, with the brown curls, that was Marcus. He looked so sad in the picture, and Bella wondered why she had drawn him this way. There was also a young girl and a boy, teenagers, wearing grey cloaks. Bella had no idea who they might have been, but certainly members of their entourage. Out of them all, it was Caius that she had drawn the most. His were the best portraits, the ones on which she probably spent the most time. Why couldn’t she remember drawing them? 

As she turned a page in what seemed like the hundredth volume, a piece of cardboard fell on the table. A postcard. 

It was the simplest thing. No photograph of the old city or the sea, of wherever Volterra was supposed to be, but simply a bright red V decorated in roses and thorns, all red as well. On the other side, written in a shaky handwriting, she read: 

_“Hi mom, I’m doing well with Aunt Dolores, I’m leaning Italian. Here it’s really beautiful and sunny. Everyone is really nice. I hope you are also learning a lot too. I can’t wait to see you this summer. Love, Bella.”_

Next to it, an address to write back. “Palazzo dei Priori, Volterra, Italia”

She read the postcard a good dozen times, as barely anything made sense at first, aside from the fact that it must be sunny in Italy, though she wondered how she would be exposed to it if her company was mostly vampires. The card was addressed to her mother, but dated from when she was...about six years old. How could she be in Europe without her mother? She was apparently with her Aunt Dolores, a distant cousin on her mother’s side. Dolores Caristo, who lived a mysterious life in Tuscany. Wait, was Volterra in Tuscany? She bit her lip at her own ignorance as she checked on the world map. Yes, yes it was. So, did that mean that Dolores was still in Volterra to this day? She hadn’t seen her since...since when?

She had come to visit when she was twelve, but she said she was sick and stayed indoor mostly. She couldn’t remember well what they had done that weekend. She didn’t stay very long. Her stomach clenched in nausea, when a terrible doubt seeped in: was Aunt Dolores a vampire? 

She had to find out more, but she only saw one way to achieve that. 

And that was a terrible idea. 

_“Bella don’t you dare”_ Edward’s voice warned her, thrilling her without reason. It dawned on her that perhaps this voice was indeed a warning, keeping her true to her promise of “not doing anything reckless or stupid”. But she couldn’t care less about precautions. She needed answers. She needed...whatever it was that she had felt when she had seen his face, heard his laughter. She went to fetch some stationary. She found some clean and glossy white paper, no doubt left over from the handwritten invitations to Renée and Phil’s wedding, and a drew out her fountain pen. She hesitated an instant, but decided that thinking too much would only let her reflect on the recklessness of what she was about to do. She drew in a long breath, and put pen to paper. 

_“Dear Caius._

_Maybe I have a death wish, writing to one of the three lords of the Underworld, but call me Persephone, for I am not scared of Hades. How many mortals, do you think, can say they have been bitten by the Cerberus, and survived with a beating heart? Maybe you would like to hear my story. Or maybe you are the one who has tales to tell, for I am but a Piccola, who thought that was glitter on your face that day in the garden. If any of this makes sense to you, here is my phone number and home address. I have so many questions, and so little time to shout them, but you have all the answers, and forever to whisper them._

_Bella”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go, a letter to Volterra! What do you think? I’ve been reading a lot of Lore Olympus lately, so I just couldn’t help using the reference to Persephone, especially after reading Midnight Sun. Also, this new OC Aunt Dolores is a new addition to our cast, and she’ll have her importance.  
> Please come back tomorrow, as the next chapter is already done and the one after that is almost finished. BTW, do you like those daily posts, or would you prefer longer chapters once a week?  
> I love your enthusiasm, please keep sending me your thoughts through comments and messages.


	7. Chapter 6 : Aro's Guilty Pleasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A letter arrives to Volterra and it's the perfect occasion to tease Caius

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear readers.   
> It’s been a week since this fiction started, with short, daily updates, and I’m so happy you all like it. I really appreciate all your comments ad enthousiasm for this fanfiction, it makes it all so much more fun.

As a general rule, Aro reads everyone’s mail. It was a hobby of his, and one that was rendered more delightful by the overall sense of irritation his brother’s thoughts would turn to when recalling his theatrical demonstration as he indulged in it. But Aro really didn’t see the point in making a fuss over the lack of privacy, since he was going to find out eventually through touch, so he might as well be the first to read it. Every time a letter would arrive to the Palace, a human slave knew to bring it directly to him in the throne room, and he would read it aloud for his two brothers to hear. This time was no exception, and when a letter addressed to Caius came from America, his curiosity was unparalleled and he skipped from this throne and ripped the envelope from the human’s hand. 

“Look what we have here, brothers! Caius, you have a letter! It’s from the New World”

Marcus didn’t even try to feign interest, but still glanced at his blond brother, who simply raised a perplexed eyebrow.

“Brother” Caius chided “You’ve got to stop calling the Americas that.” Aro supremely ignored him and said with the tone of a five-year-old on Christmas Day “Let’s see who could possibly be writing to you specifically.”

He was standing in the middle of the throne room, facing his brothers like one of those human shows giving awards for acting performances. He opened envelop and unfolded the letter with an added look of suspense toward Caius, who started to look just irritated enough to make it fun for him. Arp cleared his voice in a dramatic cough. 

**“ _Dear Caius_** …my, but you are acquainted it would seem…” he commented with a mocking grin, and Caius rolled his eyes, all too familiar with his brother taste for teasing and prying. Aro went on “My brother Caius, acquainted to an American? Could it be our dear Carlisle? No, certainly not,” Aro corrected himself, “Carlisle would write to **_me_** ”

“Brother!” Caius insisted, a loose golden curl falling on his brow as he tilted himself forward with wavering patience “The letter.”

“Oh yes,” Aro mouthed with a wicked smile. “Now where was I… ** _Dear Caius, Maybe I have a death wish, writing to one of the three lords of the Underworld,”_** he fought a laugh but continued _**“but call me Persephone, for I am not scared of Hades.** _So, this is a woman. An American human woman, even, it would seem, how scandalous brother. _”_ He glanced at Caius, who twitched in his seat, his brows furrowing slightly **_“How many mortals, do you think, can say they have been bitten by the Cerberus, and survived with a beating heart?_** Now that is interesting.. _.”_ A human who was bitten, but not turned? How could it be? He continued with a slightly dimmer mocking **tone _“Maybe you would like to hear my story. Or maybe you are the one who has tales to tell, for I am but a Piccola, who thought that was glitter on your face that day in the garden_** _._ Wait...Piccola? _”_ A glance to his brothers showed him they were thinking the same thing, as they just knew one human who was ever called that by Caius. Even Marcus straightened in his seat. Aro resumed his reading, now completely earnest **“ _If any of this makes sense to you, here is my phone number and home address. I have so many questions, and so little time to shout them, but you have all the answers, and forever to whisper them. Bella”_**

His tongue was still rolling on her name when Caius appeared next to him and snatched the letter from his hands. His eyes ran through the words over and over and his hands began to shake. 

“Brother, tell me.” Aro outstretched his hand, and Caius seized it without tearing his gaze from the letter, and Aro felt the rush of thoughts and emotion wash over him. His thoughts, as always, were in the purest Greek, from around the time of his creation; much more agreeable to Marcus obscure Etruscan. This once great civilization that ruled over what is now Tuscany was most cherished by Didyme and therefore can ever be forgotten to her bereaved mate, even by his own thought language. Forever the rebel, his depressed brother was. Aro waved off the pinch of guilt at the thought of his sister, and focused on Caius.

_Bella, Isabella, my dear Piccola...she is eighteen now, the charm is broken, her memories...she remembers. But not only that, she knows, she understands. King of the Underworld...Persephone...how much does she know. A death wish...does she remember that day, the feast? How much does she remember? How does she feel? Her memories were only supposed to come back if she needed them, Dolores had assured me of it. “I thought that was glitter on her face that day” I remember, she was always staring at me in the sun. She was never afraid. But does that mean she now understands what it was? How much does she know? Child, Piccola, how much do you know? “You have forever to whisper” she knows. That is the speech of someone who knows. How? Who told her? Does it mean that she is by law to be either killed or turned? But would she accept the Gift? If she remembers...then it was meant to be._

Images rushed alongside the stream of consciousness. The Palace inner garden basked in sunlight, where they would sit together on the steps, or lie on the grass and he would watch her fall asleep, the painting lesson he would give her. That day she had walked into the throne room...that specific memory was accompanied by an unbearable stab of pain and shame. Now that Caius was looking at her delicate handwriting, longing was the strongest emotion. 

Aro had to pull away, as he was never quite comfortable with display of mental affection, which he completely lacked and couldn’t fully understand, no matter how many times he had felt it secondhand through other’s thoughts. As he watched his brother still frozen in his repeated reading of the letter, he knew that if he had tears, he would shed them.

“Is this from the young Isabella?” Marcus asked in surprising impatience.

Caius raised his head to meet Marcus’ gaze, still trembling, his eyes wide with shock. A bright smile illuminated his face as he said “Yes Brother, yes. It is her. She wants...she’s back. She’s back.”

And at that, Caius fell on his knees, clutching the piece of paper on his chest like a royal pardon. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I KNOW this is a very short chapter, I’m sorry, but every time I tried to continue it, it wouldn’t let me add another word to it. The next chapter is almost finished and should be there tomorrow as usual. Hope you liked it, and if you did – or didn’t – please review it and let me know! Have a great weekend everyone!


	8. Corin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caius and Corin talk about what's ahead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader.   
> I’m so sorry I didn’t post anything yesterday. I think that as a rule I will continue to take the weekends off, so you can expect updates during the weekdays. It’s better this way, and besides, I write mostly at work and just finish or clean up the chapters once I’m back at home anyway. This weekend was the proof that if I want to keep updating you several times a week without burning out, I need a day off or two. 
> 
> Anyways, I was really glad to read your reactions about last chapter. I really like Aro as a character, and Michael Sheen is just perfect for him so we can keep him in the cast. This next chapter is about a character that is in the books but not in the movies: Corin. 
> 
> As a reminder, Corin is a vampire who can create a sort of mental drug that gives you a feeling of contentment and ease, and is highly addictive. Her power is used to keep Athenodora and Sulpicia satisfied of their lives as prisoners of their own homes. I imagine Corin as a short and plump brunette who would bake cookies if she wasn’t a vampire.

Bella’s letter in his hand, Caius stopped a moment in front the gate of Athenodora’s quarters, and knocked. Corin went to open. He felt a secondhand ease calm him for a moment, and the short and plump brunette gave him an apologetic half smile as she cut her power off a second later. No harm done, Caius’s gaze told her, though she was supposed to know he didn’t accept her mental anesthesia. “How is she doing?” 

Corin looked over her shoulder, before stepping outside and closing the door behind her back. She cast her eyes down and shook her head. “Master, I’m afraid, I have less effect of her Ladyship with each try. It seems that it would take all my strength to effectively dose her, and then it would affect my influence on Lady Sulpicia.”

Caius sighed “And I thought that twelve years ago Dolores might have been the solution.” 

“Dolores affected her mind, but now we are certain that it is the body that my powers influence.”

He nodded. “We are heading to an impasse. Soon you alone won’t be enough for both Sulpicia and Athena, and we both know who Aro would choose to keep under.” Corin cast her eyes down “I have failed you master.” 

“Do not say that. You have been loyal for 30 centuries.” Caius said, patting her shoulder. “I guess we both underestimated how strong willed my mate really was.” he added with a joyless smile. Did he even deserve to call her ‘mate’ anymore? “I fear what is to come, Corin. As you are no longer going to be enough, the withdrawal will start to show. We might as well try to wean her clean off your influence… But… "

"But… " Corin continued "After 3000 years of exposure, the withdrawal could be devastating." 

"Quite so. It might test her limit, even for an Immortal." 

"This has never been attempted before " she whispered. They were both aware that this was uncharted territory. 

“Still, Corin, we have to try. Whether we like it or not, things are headed in that direction. You cannot sustain her and we have nothing even close to what you can offer.”

“May I suggest an increase in her feeding then, master?”

They exchanged a long look. Caius shifted his weight slightly, away from Corin, and studied her face “You know she barely feeds.” 

“Yes,” Corin answered with an appreciative nod, “And I think maybe insisting that she feeds more regularly could dimmer the withdrawal symptoms. One shouldn’t underestimate the...satiation fresh blood can offer.” 

To that, Caius couldn’t argue. Besides, immortals didn’t usually lose weight or appear to waste away, unless they refuse to feed. He remembers how Carlisle had once attempted to starve himself until he had looked like a proper corpse. Once he started to notice the physical change in Athenodora twenty years ago, he knew she was not feeding as much as she should be. Now she was in such a state of physical weakness that no one could pretend they didn’t know something was utterly wrong with her. If her treatment included an increase in blood, did that mean that he would have to force her to partake? Hold her head down until her teeth scraped a human’s neck? Would he have to be so cruel, again? 

Corin suddenly seemed to notice the letter in his hand, and Caius waved it toward her with a smile. “It’s silly. When I received that, the first thing I thought was ‘Athena is going to be so happy!’” His laugh didn’t quite reach his eyes “And then of course I remembered…that…” He looked down. “That she wouldn’t know who she is.” Dolores’s work had been thorough.

The plump woman gave him a gentle smile “It’s because she’s your mate, master. She’s the first person you want to talk to, about anything.” 

Caius nodded, still not quite confident to look up, although he knew there would be no tears in his eyes. “Do you think that the Young Lady Isabella...do you think she will eventually come here?” 

“I don’t know, I have yet to contact her. The letter arrived this morning, and... well...I’m still thinking it over.” He paced away and went to the nearest window. It had a view of the fields, the green landscape coated in cold light that pierced through the windows and onto his face. He placed a hand on his chest. “I am…” he chuckled “so happy. and terrified.”

Corin came to stand next to him. “Master, you have prepared for that time. You knew it was a possibility that she would reach out for you. You have been...expectant.” Caius turned to study her expression, and she gave an apologetic smile. “We noticed that you no longer feast with us all, at it is the custom.” his eyes widened “We thought that, maybe you had taken the habit of only feeding alone; but…”

“Who is we?” He said sharply. 

Corin blinked and moved a step away. “Everyone, master. After centuries of feasting together, we all noticed your sudden absence”

“I expected that you would notice. Not that you would talk of it.” there was an iciness in his voice that forced her eyes down.

“I’m sorry master. I only meant...that it is my personal belief that you have changed your habit to accommodate the Young Lady Isabella’s presence, should she ever return.” Caius went back to stare at the landscape. The sun was setting. Corin ventured “You mean to say I am mistaken?”

Caius smirked at the window. “You are insightful.” 

Corin allowed herself a satisfied smile, and knew it was time to take her leave, so she said “If you need me for anything, I’ll be tending to Lady Sulpicia.” and turned her heels and walked away. 

Caius’s eyes waited patiently until the sun was completely under the horizon before he allowed himself another look at the letter. In the course of day, he had read it a thousand time, and yet his studies of it always seemed to unearth new gems. How one stroke to write the letter T could show assertiveness, how the curve of a coma evoked gentleness, how the tilt of a word revealed emotion. 

Though the biggest mystery of the letter was certainly the phone number inscribed at the very end. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, two chapters in a row in Volterra, what do you think? And since l had you wait an extra day for this update, I’ll give you a little preview: next chapter is also in Volterra…and it has to do with Caius trying to make a phone call.   
> See you tomorrow for your Monday Update.


	9. New technologies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caius and Marcus try to keep up with the latest technologies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Reader  
> Thank you for your support in yesterday’s chapter. I know that you are getting more and more impatient to get some answer, and I hope you’ll like this newest update

It was a rare situation which occurred once per century, when Caius would admit to needing any help, and Marcus would feel inclined to supply him with his support. Usually, such situations would be impeded by one’s pride and the other’s apathy, but in this specific instance, Caius’ distress was one of those rare sorts of entertainment that could actually pull Marcus out of his lethargy. 

They both eyed at the small cellphone Aro had offered him a decade prior. “I tried talking into it. So far it doesn’t talk back.” Caius stated, as if informing Marcus of the advancement of a science study.

“Why didn’t you call Aro for this? He’s the one that’s always eager to learn about the newest technologies” 

“Marcus, the telephone was invented in 1876”

“Precisely, it’s brand new. We can’t be expected to keep up. Honestly this industrial revolution is giving me a headache. I’m still trying to understand about this...electricity, thing.” 

Caius looked at his brooding sloth of a brother with utter consternation. “Aren’t teenagers supposed to be interested in anything new and groundbreaking?” 

“If you called me here just to insult me, brother, I can just as well leave.”

“Never mind.”

Their eyes turned back to the device. “Isn’t this thing supposed to be powered by electricity as well?” Marcus ventured, and Caius had a flash of revelation as he plugged the charger in the wall’s nearest outlet and attached it the cellphone. A little green battery shone on the screen. 

“Now what?” Marcus said. 

“Now we wait.” Caius answered, and he stilled himself in front of the device, his eyes locked on the little batterie filling itself with a green liquid on the screen. His brother imitated him, standing so close his brown locks were nearly touching his brother’s blond ones.

xXx

“Seriously though,” Marcus whispered as the battery was half charged “why didn’t you call Aro for this? He’s the one who gave you the phone to begin with.”

“Because”, Caius whispered back “If he finds out I haven’t used a telephone once since its invention, I will hear about it for the rest of eternity.” 

“Make sure the next time he touches you it’s during a major crisis, then,” Marcus answered with empathy “so he’s distracted.”

They exchanged knowing looks and Caius dipped his head in appreciation and took his advice. 

“You can always call the twin witches.” Marcus said “They’re always curious about novelties and technology. You should see what they can do with those…electric music instruments.”

“Right, ‘Caius scoffed, “like I’m going to go beg _the help_ for assistance.” The very image of Jane and Alec hearing about his ignorance was torture in itself.

“Don’t be such a snob, brother, they’ve been here for twelve centuries.”

“Their loyalty lies with Aro first and foremost, you know that, and the whole point was to keep him out of this ordeal.”

“That is…true enough” Marcus sighed.

xXx

The phone finally shone bright, waiting for their next move, and Caius’ hands were slightly trembling when he unplugged it. With a nervous look at Marcus, he said “So, I just...push those buttons to match the numbers written on the letter?” 

He waited for his brother’s reaction, but he barely raised a thick eyebrow and shrugged when he said “Don’t look at me, how should I know?” 

He stared at the device with growing anxiety, and finally started to dial the numbers, followed by the little green button that had a “start” sign on. He put his hand to his ear, looking to his brother for support. 

“So, what is happening?” Marcus said with a newfound eagerness. 

“There is a long tone...it’s an A... repeated once, twice...no three time. What do you think that it…”?

“- Hello? -”

Caius threw the phone on the wall with all his might. 

xXx

Marcus paced back and forth in the room, a hand clasped on his mouth, trying his best not to let a sound out as Caius face was on the floor, pulling at his hair with desperate self-loathing.

“Well…” Marcus said with a trembling voice “at least now you know how to use a telephone.”

“What is wrong with me?” Caius groaned, rolling on his back, and Marcus exploded in a roaring laughter that earned him a look of offended shock from his blond brother. “You probably laugh once per decade brother and THAT’S what you choose to use your allowance on? My distress and my profound, appalling stupidity? 

“Quite!” Marcus chucked “Seriously though, you were waiting for a way to reconnect with her for... how long again?”

Caius straightened up. “I need to call her again. Where is the…”

His eyes landed on the shreds of metal pilling in a corner of the room and his face fell with consternation. He raised his eyes to meet Marcus “Where else can I find a telephone?”

xXx

One smile from the two brothers had Gianna blushing up to her ears, and they waved her away for “Privacy reasons” before standing before the front desk in the main entrance’s grand hall. 

“Ok”, Marcus said with an encouraging nudge to Caius’ ribs “This time you’ll do it right” he fought a chucked as Caius gave him a warning look. 

Caius’ black leather boots resonated in the marble hall as he slowly stepped toward the device carefully pulled the receiver to his ear as if it was made of glass and started dialing the numbers again. 

Again, the tones started ringing on the other side, twice this time, and then the same voice broke out “Hello?”

The warm, young voice weakened his knees, and Caius had to lean forward and press a palm on the desk for support. He closed his eyes and drew a long breath. 

“Hello Piccola.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don’t hesitate to comment and tell me what you thought of this chapter. I know I am keeping you waiting, and I kinda enjoy it XD. Honestly, I like to play with all of my characters, and this way you got more in touch with my Marcus. I really see him as a Timothée Chalamet, brooding and cheeky, and I always wanted to see the bromance potential of the Volturi, especially with Caius, since Aro is sort of a psychopath. 
> 
> Come back tomorrow, the next chapter is ready ^-^


	10. Whispers of the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella ties loose ends and tries to sleep.   
> Syke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Reader  
> I come to you with a gift. The gift of a long chapter. yes  
> I was actually debating cutting the chapter in two, but then decided you have been waiting for a good ten days for me to finally give you what you’ve all been waiting for. I won’t say more and will let you enjoy.

A week had passed since Bella had sent the letter, and focusing had been harder every day. She wondered if she should expect a letter, a phone call or a travelling bat. How did the Kings of the Underworld communicate? 

The dreams had given her more details, as if her revelation has uncovered a veil and that now new light was available to her. She found that hours of meditation in the early morning with her mother was just as efficient as dreams to focus on those memories, and much safer, as the abyssal forest rarely came to visit whenever she concentrated her mind on the bright memories of Volterra. She kept track of every piece of information, however trivial. It was a daily exercise she wrote in her notebook in Italian, which was now completely familiar to her... Though she wasn’t as certain when it came to the grammar or spelling. It was like she was writing the way a child would, she knew the words, but not how to write them. In a way, Italian seemed to her like a long-lost mother tongue she was starting to remember. 

She could remember so many things now, but all those memories filled her with more questions than answers. Her earliest memory traced back to when she was maybe three or four years old, but even at that time, everyone looked at her as if she was a member of their strange family, and her last memory was somewhere when she was six or seven, she couldn’t really tell. She could see all those memories with the nostalgic haze of an early childhood you barely remember. Months of time would disappear in fog, while some specific moments shone bright and vivid, and colored by intense emotions. 

She would play with aunt Dolores, and she would give her private lesson to teach her to read and write. They had their own room and bathroom, like a small apartment with a tall window with a view of the old medieval city. She remembered the enormous four posters bed with thick red velvet curtains that made her feel like a princess, and both her and Aunt Dolores would sleep in it. In her memories, aunt Dolores was warm, with beautiful grey eyes and black hair. Definitely human. 

She remembered a young girl who looked no older than twelve, whose bright red eyes contrasted with her aunt’s deep grey. Vampire, then. Her name was Jane, and she was one of her favorite babysitters. Her twin brother, Alec, was never really far. 

When she concentrated on Jane and Alec, she remembered music, and dancing. Jumping around in a dark room with no windows, with mufflers on her ears as they played a really loud, intense music that would make her laugh. Alec playing the bass, Jane playing the guitar and singing - or screaming, depending on the song - and another man on the drums…. she couldn’t remember his name or face somehow. She remembered how exhilarating it felt to scream her hearts content in that room, imitating Jane, and it would make her laugh a crystalline laugh. She remembered adulating her, like a cool older sister. 

Other memories filled her. Dancing in a traditional music room, bright with sunshine as Jane and Alec would make her swirl to the music of a grand piano. A young man with dark curls would play, completely absorbed in the music, not paying attention to them. Marcus. Somehow, she remembered his name, but his presence was filled with a pinch of tension, as if she was impressed by him. She could see why she drew him with such a sad look on his face. Now that she gazed down at her memories with her young adult eyes, she could see the agony plain on his expression as he played. It was obvious...and contagious. She couldn’t focus on him for too long before her own empty chest would scream its cold hunger again, and she had to switch her focus to another subject. 

She had memories of Corin, a round and warm looking woman, who was always down in the kitchens with her, baking her cookies. “I missed having someone to bake for” she would say. Hers were the most delicious pastries she’s ever eaten. 

“ _Don’t overfeed her”_ A sweet voice would say with a hint of warning. Corin would instantly look down and say _“Of course master. I would never jeopardize her health.”_

Caius memories where those that filled her with the most warmth and love. Whenever her mind would recollect a moment with him, her heart would leap in her chest, and tighten with nostalgia. She remembered he had this silver armoire ring with a V on it, decorated with roses and thorns. She loved that ring. She remembered that she would cherish every moment with him with an almost clingy eagerness. She would raise her arms and he would pick her up instantly, and they would walk around in the corridors. She would ask about a painting, and he would give her details and stories that came with it. They would lie in the grass during the day, and she would gaze at his glowing skin with awe. He would take her to his workshop and teach her to paint. She would splash paint on the walls, and he would just laugh as if it was the most brilliant thing he’d seen in years. 

She had memories that didn’t make much sense. A time when Dolores wasn’t with her, when she would spend all of her time with Caius. He would watch her eat Corin’s delicious cooking in the kitchen _. “You are not hungry?”_ she would ask, and he would give her a mysterious smile _“I’ve already eaten”._ So many times, he just carried her when she was half asleep and she would wake up in her bed the next morning. Other times he would tuck her in and lie next to her, telling her stories. Her favorite stories where those of the old Gods of Greece. The story of Hades and Persephone, the goddess of spring who married the king of the underworld, and the story of Eros and Psyche, the god who fell in love with the maiden he was sent to curse. Sometimes, when the weather was warm enough, he would take her to the countryside at night, away from the city light, and they would lay in the fields. There he would show her the constellations, and the stories of the Gods they represented. As beautiful as those memories were, she couldn’t understand how aunt Dolores would leave her alone like that, and yet, in her memories it seemed like months went by without seeing her, and she would spend most of her time with Caius, Jane, Alec and Corin. 

She had other memories, she could feel them below the surface, slightly trembling and agitating the wave of her consciousness, but somehow a strong hand would hold them under. A rush of fear and a desire to run would take hold of her, and Edwards’ voice would scream **_“Be Careful Bella!”_** with the loudest intent that would take her right out of her meditation. Even her own self fought against them, as if she didn’t even want to think about them. Every time she tried to make a conscious effort to remember, it was as if her mind would suddenly find something much more interesting to think about. She would suddenly want to draw, or sleep, or cook. 

Not that she was eating much. But she would cook, and bake, and leave everything for Phil and Renée. Phil would munch on anything she’d make, but Renée always gave her twenty questions about what kind of milk she used, and if there was butter or eggs or how dark those chocolate chips were or if she _really_ needed to add that much sugar. But in the end, everything would disappear from the kitchen table, and no one noticed the hadn’t even touch it. 

On their second session, Dr Susan O’Neil congratulated her on her endeavor to recall memories and on her new habit of meditation. Of course, she remained as vague as possible, saying that she was recovering some memories from a family summer house in Italy and the people she met there. She mentioned the darker memories that she couldn’t access, and apparently it was normal and for the moment it would be best not to force it. For now, she needed to focus on how her memories made her feel, and keep a journal if possible. “Nothing is trivial” she said. 

She then enquired on her eating habits, and Bella tried her best to deflect her concerned questions, but by the end of it she had to admit to a less than healthy habit. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to eat.” Bella said. “It’s just...my stomach hurts...like. All the time.”

Susan reassured her that it wasn’t uncommon for breakups to cause physical pain as much as emotional one. But after four months of malnourishment, she faced several dreadful consequences. One being to simply not have the physical energy to recover, and the other to develop a long-lasting eating disorder she would have to fight for years. Apparently, it wasn’t too late for her to change her path, and she gave her some basic recommendation to recover some of her energy, little by little. And for the first time after months of hearing “Just Eat Something”, she actually listened. She’s actually gone to the store, bought the supplements and the water bottle she was to carry around every day. She printed and pinned above her desk the menu of what she was going to eat for the week, with boxes to check. Part of her knew that her new memories of Volterra played a part in that change. When she had been just _waiting_ , for months, now she actually wanted...something. She didn’t know what, yet. But she wanted something. And she wanted the strength to accomplish it. It was as if something was driving her, literally moving her forward. Helping her wake up in the morning, not just with a dead autopilot, but with an actual desire to...to what? 

To uncover. Unearth. Exhume. 

Her memories?

**Herself**

For the first time in four months, she felt alive.

So that night, after she gazed one last time at the weekly plan pinned above her desk, which also included the date of when she was expected to go back to her local high-school -the following Monday - she didn’t feel as much dread surround her as she went to sleep. She welcomed the dark, hoping to sleep through the night. 

Sleep had not entirely taken over her that her phone vibrated on her desk. When she wondered who could possibly be calling her at ...11pm, her thoughts came right to _him,_ and her heart leapt and carried her to her phone as if she was floating. She put it to her ear and, clearing her throat once, she breathed: “Hello?” 

No answer. There was a loud - thump - and then the line cut. 

Bella sat on the mattress, staring at the phone, and tried to call the number again, but a female android voice informed her that the number was no longer available. She stayed there for a few minutes, frozen in place with the phone in her hand, confused and completely awake, until the phone vibrated again in her palm. 

“Hello?” She said softly, almost whispering. 

On the other hand, a voice as sweet as honey made her heart drop in her stomach. 

**“Hello Piccola.”**

She remained silent for a moment, her gut clenching tightly as she recognized the soft voice that had travelled an ocean to greet her. “Caius.” She breathed. She realized she had not said his name out loud once, in her week of recollection, and only heard it in her memories. Hearing his voice, speaking his name, knowing they were both actually talking, connected by this invisible communication line...she only realized then that she had not entirely believed that her memories had been anything more than fantasies and dreams. But he had called her Piccola, and she had said his name, and now he was answering: 

“Yes, Bella. It is I.” 

The air was punched out of her lungs by the confirmation. 

“You called.” she gasped. 

“You gave me your number.” he answered, a smile in his voice. “Though I must tell you, the Kings of the Underworld rarely make phone calls.”

She repressed an embarrassed moan as she remembered her letter, written before most of her memories could resurface. But she stilled herself and said “What do the Kings do then, instead of calling?” 

“We usually call on people. In person.” 

She could hear a scratching sound deeper in his voice, constant tiny vibrato that colored his tone. Now that she really thought about it, he sounded almost...British. 

“I don’t recall you ever paid me a visit. But then again, I figure Phoenix is a bit sunny for you.” _Though in that regard it holds nothing on Tuscany_ she almost added. 

There was a pause on the other end, followed by: 

“So, you know.” The voice suddenly lost its playful sheen. She knew what he meant.

“I do.” she breathed.

“How?” 

“I…” the void in her chest threatened to scream “Last year I moved to live at my father’s place. In Forks?” No reaction, he was still waiting. “I met other... people, there. the Cullen’s.”

“Oh. I see.”

Suddenly she remembered something. Something Edward had told her, about the rules. 

“They did not break the rules. They didn’t reveal anything to me, I’m the one who snooped.” 

He chuckled, a sound that stilled her completely.

“Why am I not surprised.” He spoke. Bella smiled despite herself. “So, you know about the rules?”

“Some of them. Carlisle, he told me about...about you.”

Royalty, ruthless, powerful. Sophisticated and cruel. Somehow this went against everything she remembered. But she did remember the bright red eyes...and knew what they meant. 

“And that is how you started to remember?” 

“No... I started to remember recently.” She somehow knew that it would be difficult to tell him the whole story. 

“And what did Carlisle say, when you told him?” 

Bella had to gather her thought and calm her breathing before answering. 

“I didn’t tell him. We are not... in contact anymore. I moved back with my mother, in Jacksonville.”

“Yes...the address you gave said as much. There seems to be a story there, _bambina_.”

Bambina. Child. Piccola. All those endearment titles that echoed in her heart with a warm light. She hunched her head on her hand “Yes.” she said, and her voice was shaking. 

Another silence. 

**“You’re coming to Volterra, Child.”** His voice was hard as stone. It wasn’t a request. 

She felt panic taking over as she stood and went to face the window. “Caius, I can’t.” 

His voice shook a little with a sort of hesitation “Do you... _wish_...to stay away from the fortress? From us?” 

She should, Bella thought. In normal circumstances, with what she knew of the Volturi. But her answer was steeled in certainty when she said “No, I don’t wish that.”

She could swear she heard him sigh on the other end “Then why?” he asked. 

“Caius, I still have to graduate, and I just came back to my mother’s house. She would worry.”

He scoffed “No she wouldn’t worry. She didn’t worry in the first place when she let you go alone to Italy with Dolores all those years so that she could go back to University, remember?” 

Bella had to think for a moment. Did she remember that? It is true that she wondered why her mother wasn’t with her in all those memories. Somehow the only memories that she had of her mother during that time period were...summertime. Vacations. 

“I didn’t…” she trailed off. “I didn’t realize. I’m still trying to remember.”

“Didn’t everything come back at once?” He asked with a hint of concern in his voice. 

“No. I’m still trying to put all the pieces together…Caius...It’s strange. Carlisle told me one thing, and I remember another...Somehow it doesn’t make any sense” 

She hadn’t realize how confused she had been, how much she needed to make sense of those paradoxes. She leaned her forehead on the cold window and tried to breathe evenly. _1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in, 6 7 8 9 10 out..._

“Then do you remember…”

She waited for him to finish his sentence. 

“...what do you remember?” his voice was hoarse, all honey dried up. 

Bella sighed and looked deep into the distance. The house was facing the ocean, shining under the moonlight.

“I remember...Jane and Alec, how they would make me dance. Marcus playing the piano. Corin baking cookies. Dolores teaching me how to read. You...I remember you, mostly. The Garden. The painting lessons. The stories under the stars.” 

“And how do you feel?” his voice was so choked up it was difficult to make up the words, but she felt them, swelling in her chest, and she realized she was crying when she answered:

**“I feel...I want to come back. I-I want to come home, Caius.”**

Because it was home, she realized. Not Phoenix, not Forks, not Jacksonville. Those places were not her home. No one cared for her there, taught her, fed her, held her...Home was Volterra. It had always been Volterra. Her knees gave way and she clasped a hand on her mouth as the sobs kept coming in shaking waves, choking her. 

“But I can’t just leave, there are...things. I need to... continue my education. There are so many things...I don’t know…”

 **“Now, Child, listen.”** His voice compelled her, and her full attention was on him **“You don’t have to worry about that. I will take care of it. You will continue your education here. Your parents will not have to worry. Everything you need, you will have it, and more. Just wait. Can you do that?”**

She nodded frantically, and remembered he couldn’t see her “Y-yes.” 

“And, Bella.” he said, and the honey was back in his voice, softer and so sweet you could hardly hear the scraping sound in his accent. **“I’ve missed you.”**

**xXx**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader.   
> You can scream now.   
> See you tomorrow


	11. Volcano

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caius is worried Bella isn't telling him everything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader.   
> You are insane.   
> Your reactions are hilarious, and so satisfying to read. Thank you so much for this amazing support, and please, keep reading!   
> I wrote this chapter while listening to “dark academia music to write to”  
>  It works wonder.

_Someone hurt my baby._

The statement was ridiculous, completely inappropriate and utterly inaccurate. Yet, when Caius hung the receiver on its base, no other sentence could fully describe how he felt. Someone had hurt his baby. The Child was crying, she was crying and he wasn’t there, and now the only feeling stronger than his helplessness, was this question stuck in his mind:

Who had hurt her? 

Somewhere in the depth of his immortal soul, something started to boil. Not like water, ready to evaporate in hot steam, no. Not like water. Like magma. Magma in the pit of a volcano, magma waking up. Slowly...so slowly. 

He was the Mount Vesuvius, and Pompeii’s citizen had better run. When they still could.

“Guards” Caius called.

Two of the many figures hidden in light grey cloaks behind the hall’s pillars stepped out of their stillness and walked toward him. “Masters.”

“Call Demetri. Tell him I will see him in my study. Now”

The two figures bowed slightly and disappeared from his sight. 

It was only when Marcus laid a hand on his shoulder that he realized every single muscle on his body was clenched stiff. “Brother…” Marcus said “Talk to me.”

Caius straightened himself to face him, and his agony was reflected in his brother’s burgundy eyes. “The child...Young Isabella...Something happened.”

Marcus’s dark brows furrowed with concern “I will walk you to your study, Caius, and you will tell me everything”. 

**xXx**

By the time they arrived to Caius private office, Demetri was already there, standing at attention in his dark grey cloak in front of the mahogany desk covered with books and scrolls. He greeted them with a stiff bow. “Masters.”

“Demetri,” Caius said “I need you to track the Olympic coven. Take Afton with you, and stay hidden. I want a full report on their current locations and activities, as well as a detailed summary of the events of the past twelve months regarding them. 

“They have the seer.” Marcus reminded him “She will see them coming.” 

“Have Jane and Alec come with you, then. Be prepared to interrogate them if necessary. But if possible, stay under their seer’s radar. This is not an intervention. Yet.” 

Marcus raised his eyebrows at him so high that they went to hid behind his curls. Demetri bowed again and left swiftly. 

“Yet? Do you mean to say there might be an intervention?”

Caius paced with long strides around in desk.

“I do not know yet. Everything will depend of how...how grave the offense was.”

“You mean, because of their revealing their true nature to the young Isabella?”

“Not only that but...Something wasn’t right, Marcus, I could feel it in her voice when she mentioned that coven. Something happened.” 

She had admitted that there was a long story, and if seemed to be a painful one, but she was also protecting them. Protecting them from him. 

_Carlisle told me one thing, and I remember another_

Knowing Carlisle, all self-righteousness and vegetarian, he could only imagine the horror he might have told her about his brothers and him. Of course, none of those things would be lies. And yet here she was, _“I want to come home”_ and all. She had known what they were, what _he_ was, and yet her despair was such that she was begging to come home to him.

“We need to create an application for her to enroll at the University of Pisa as one of our scholarship students.” They had personally founded the institute in the mid-1300s, and it had regularity provided a status for people staying at the fortress throughout the years. “Also, a way for her to finish her high school credits here as well.” 

Marcus nodded and they started clearing space on the desk to start, so that they could send the paperwork first thing in the morning. “At some point, it will be good to inform Aro.” Marcus started. “If a human is going to stay at Volterra, he has a right to know.”

They exchanged a long look. “I don’t need his permission. Plus, Aro already knows Bella. He’s obsessed by the fact that he can’t read her.”

“All the more reason to tell him. If you intend for her to remain human” Marcus pointed out. “If that’s even possible.”

Caius head shot up to meet his gaze “What do you mean?” 

Marcus threw a dubious glance at him **“You know very well what I mean. Twelve years ago, young Isabella’s mortality was protected by the Children Protection Act, which combines the ancient decree forbidding the creation of Immortal Children, and the more recent law you had implemented twenty years ago forbidding the harvesting or hunting of humans children under the age of 12. "**

Caius's jaw clenched, remembering the incident that had led to that law. Athenodora, that newborn… her skull cracking in his hands. If he had to point the moment when the changed first occurred in him, it would be that specific second when the child had stopped crying. 

Well aware of the pain the memory had caused him, Marcus went on:

**"Young Lady Bella is 18now. By law she falls under the category of Human Liability. Which mean that…”**

" I know what it means, Marcus." Caius interrupted him, as he knew how painful it would be for him to hear the rest of the sentence. She was to be killed or turned. But would Bella accept the Gift? Would she see it as a blessing, or as a curse? 

She was already in so much pain, her voice had told him so. How could he add any to that? 

The very fact that she was remembering him meant that something wasn’t right. If she had been leading a perfect human life, those memories would have remained hidden in the subconscious box Dolores had manufactured inside her mind. 

He still remembered that day, when everything changed. That creeping and unavoidable doom he had anticipated without ever really accepting. The day she would see.

**xXx**

She was trashing and kicking around, screaming in hysteric sobs, but he was holding her firmly, hugging the little girl close. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Bella. Child. I’m so very sorry”

“ **LIAR** ” she yelled 

“Yes,” he said, his eyes shut in agony “Yes I lied. I’m sorry. I didn’t want you do know. I kept that from you.” 

**“YOU TRICKED ME** ” she cried from the top of her lungs, fighting his embrace.

“I did” he moaned “I did, yes. I did. I’m sorry, Piccola. I’m so so very sorry.”

 **“I HATE YOU!”** she shrieked so loud her voice broke in a fit of coughs and sobs.

He would have shed tears of blood that day, had he been able to. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader.  
> Do you hate me very much for this ending?  
> See you tomorrow.


	12. Eruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella and Renée have a heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader.   
> Please forgive me for what’s about to happen.   
> TW: swearing

A week went by without any news from Volterra, and Bella started to wonder if that midnight phone called hadn't been a dream after all. School was a distraction, as she was once again the new girl, but between meditating, drawing and journaling, she could hardly think of anything else than the fact that it was very probable that she had invented a childhood where vampires were her family, where her father didn't know about it and where her mother couldn't care less. She wondered what Susan would make of that. 

She tried to carefully discussed the subject with Renee, with innocent questions about her college days.

“You know Bella,” she said staring at the ceiling while stretching her back with a yoga ball, “after I left Charlie, I was a bit lost and clearly depressed, and my mother had the tough love clarity of telling me she would only take me back if I accepted to go back to school.” Renée gave her a heavy look before resuming her stretching “So I tried to...you know, find myself and major in creative writing at first, but...well it didn’t work out so much. I tried majoring in art studies then and eventually in teaching...I can’t believe that it took me actually six years to graduate. You would spend most of your time with your grandmother and she loved you to death.”

“I thought you didn’t get along with Grandma.” Bella said, not mentioning the fact that she had no memories of actually living with her grandmother. It seemed to be nothing more than a story she had been told and had made fake memories for, but never truly believed, even before she remembered Volterra. 

“I didn’t, you’re right. But what could I do? I had to study, and you needed a babysitter.”

“Hmm, so you didn’t have your own place before moving to Phoenix?” Bella said on her mat, trying to touch her ankles. She clearly remembered seeing her mother handing boxes and point to furniture’s as the movers carried a sofa down a flight of stairs.

Renée’s slowed her movement a bit and frowned slightly at the ceiling, trying to remember something. 

“No... I was at my mother’s place... I…” she trailed off. “You know what, this was all a long time ago, and my head was in constant haze between the Xanax and the studying. But I don’t see how I could have managed having my own place, not with you. I couldn’t afford a full-time babysitter on top of rent and groceries.”

After a moment in which Bella wondered if the same thing that has altered her memory has also worked its ways on her mother, she had the ominous feeling that her mother had... **sold** her to Dolores. Let her have her in exchange for a way to not have to stay at her estranged mother’s house, following her rules. She wondered, how long it took her to realize she would never make it to graduation living at Mary Higginbotham’s place? Months? A year maybe? 

Did that mean that she had been living in Volterra since she was a baby, only coming back during the summer break for a month of vacation with her mother and another with her father? Bella suddenly stood up. 

**“I think I’m going to be sick.”** She stumbled out of the yoga room with a hand on her lips. and went to lock herself in the bathroom. 

A minute later, she heard knocking in between retching. “Bella? Honey are you okay?”

“I’m okay” she managed to mumble, her heart still burning and her stomach threatening to turn again. She remained hunched over the toilet bowl. 

“You know, I’ve seen the menu you’ve pinned on the wall in the yoga room” **_Yoga room_**. Not her room, but yoga room. As it had remained so, every morning from five to seven and every night from nine to ten. “Your doctor may be a good therapist, but when it comes to nutrition you should really follow what my coach Kylie told me. You could really benefit from going vegan. And stop taking those supplements, you really don’t know what Big Pharma put in those.” she really continued her speech as if she couldn’t hear Bella vomiting on the other side of the door “gluten, milk, eggs, and chemicals, that’s what’s making you sick darling.”

Bella legs stood with sheer audacity and she nearly fell on the door handle. 

“You know what’s making me sick, _Mom_ ” Bella said in a low voice that seemed to come from the very same place her nausea was shaking her “Right now in this exact moment?” she rested her head on the door and glared at it as if her eyes could pierce the wood. “ **You.”**

Silence. 

“Your selfishness, your immaturity, and worst of all, **_your hypocrisy.”_**

The calmness of her voice contrasted incredibly with the adrenaline that made her tremble from head to toes. It was as if the cold abyss in her chest had been given a mic, and that it had unfolded a monologue prepared throughout the years and was reading it carefully, like in a New York coffee shop poetry night. 

“You heard me, I think you’re a hypocrite, Renée. You’re here, pretending you’ve discovered mindfulness, slow-life and spirituality, and maybe this helps you mom, maybe _Kylie_ from your online yoga class helps you sleep at night, but you and I we know the truth. We know that you didn’t give shit about anyone but yourself and that’s why you left Charlie, and that’s why you took forever to graduate to _“find yourself”_ while you had a kid who needed you, and how convenient that you only graduated when I was old enough to take the _bus_ to school! You barely cooked for me, never helped me with my homework, never been a shoulder to cry on, never help me through _anything!_ ”

“Bella you’re so unfair! How can you say something like that to **me**?” Renée said in a choked-up voice. She was crying, _of course she was._

“Oh my god but will you **_HEAR YOURSELF_**?” Bella said, her cold voice taking more volume, her body perfectly still now. Somehow this was helping. She hardly felt any nausea anymore “It is always about you, isn’t it? **Everything in this relationship had been always about YOU, and how _I_ made _YOU_ feel, and how your selfish, self-centered behavior was always justified!”** _Was she still talking to her mother?_ “I did everything for you! I cooked, I cleaned, and I listened. God, I listened. If you were happy, we both had to celebrate, if you were sad, we both had to mourn. How about how I felt? When did that ever matter to you? I was the one helping you, I was the one taking care of you when you were sick, I was the one to hear you talk about the men you’d date. I would stay for you, and I would leave for you. I moved to Forks for you.” _This is your fault._ the abyss condemned _Somehow this is all your fault_

“You left to stay with Charlie!” Renée answered, her voice pained and... _vexed?_

Bella laughed a dry, foreign cold laugh “You tell yourself that _Renée”_ How could she actually believe she’d willingly go to that cloudy, wet, green… **_“Careful Bella”_** Edward’s voice threatened “Oh for fuck’s sake!” she grabbed her hair “ **If you hadn’t taught me to never speak up, never _exist;_ always please others, always fucking sacrifice everything I feel, like it’s my sacred duty in this mortal existence I would have never, never, NEVER!”**

She couldn’t go on, and as her throat sealed shut and her chest contracted, her palm hit the door as hard she could. Once. Twice. Three time. Until the abyss calmed down and her breathing was even. 

“I can’t deal with you when you’re like this Bella.” Renée said in a sad puppy voice between sniffles. 

“And when is that?” Bella answered, her voice barely more than a whisper “It’s the first time I speak my mind.”

“I can’t believe you’d actually think that...this isn’t like you.”

“How would you know”

“Maybe this was a mistake. You coming back.” This statement sent a shiver in her bones. “You’re eighteen now. Perhaps it’s best if…”

Renée stopped, interrupted by Bella’s low humorless chuckles. 

“Don’t worry mom...Something tells me I won’t stay long anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear reader  
> This had to be done.  
> Give me your honest opinion.  
> Oh and, just a reminder: I really have nothing against yoga or gluten free veganism. Really, eat and practice what you want. It’s just my opinion that Renee is a narcissist who lead the way for future abusers like Edwards to just take advantage of her daughter (all with the best of intentions, of course – Hell is paved with those)  
> See you tomorrow for this week’s last update


	13. Persephone and Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bella prepares to leave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Reader,   
> I understood just how toxic Renée is by reading Midnight Sun. In the end of the book, as Bella is at the hospital, and Edward hear Renée’s thoughts, he realizes her mental voice is like a scream, extremely loud and it translates to her being extremely charismatic to humans. People are just drawn to her, and want to answer all her needs, help her, protect her. She’s the ultimate doe eyed manipulator, always the victim. It’s a very interesting scene that really shines a new light on her mother and show how much of a narcissist and “emotional vampire” she is. Strangely enough (not really), Edward realizes that, but never talks to Bella about it. He never let her see the manipulative ways of her mother...maybe because if she started to identify abusive behaviors, she would see his? Interesting isn’t it? What do you think? 
> 
> In any case, I was happy to see that many of you shared my vision of Renée and how I dealt with her in my last chapter. I hope you’ll also like this one. Since it will be the last chapter of the week, I made this one extra-large.   
> Enjoy

The letter came the next morning, hidden amongst the bills on the breakfast table where Renée and Bella drank their coffee in silence. Phil has gone to the gym early - quite literally running away from the cold war that had taken over the house in the past twenty-four hours.

Bella ignored Renée curious glance as she opened at the normal looking long while envelope. It contained a dark red smaller one, as well as a rigid glossy pamphlet for the University of Pisa and an official stamped document announcing - in Italian and English - her enrollment in said university starting from the new semester in February, in the major of her choosing. 

“But I haven’t even graduated High School yet.” she mumbled to herself, but the document gave her the answered she needed: apparently the credits she’ll get in that semester would serve to help her graduate, as her score as an Advanced student in Phoenix and then in Forks granted her a sufficient level. She frowned to the utter fishiness of the explanation, but one look at Pisa on the map told her all she needed to know: it was just next to Volterra. 

The red envelope confirmed her suspicions, as it contained a card folded in two, with a design strikingly similar to the postcard she had found in her notebook, with the red gothic V and the thorns and roses. It now reminded her of the armoire ring on Caius’ hand. Inside, in beautiful calligraphy, she could read: 

**_“Dearest Persephone,_ **

**_Pack your bags and say your goodbyes to Demeter._ **

**_Go to Jacksonville airport January 19th at noon._ **

**_The Kings of the Underworld await your arrival._ **

**_C.”_ **

She smiled that the mirror version of her letter. Caius definitely had a sense of humor. January 19th...it was the next day. She had a day to pack her bags and leave the continent for...ever?

_Say your goodbye to Demeter._ Bella glanced up at Renée. Demeter was the Goddess of Agriculture, and mother of Persephone, goddess of Spring. Only in the tale she is actually scandalized when Hades come to take her daughter away, and pleads for her return. As a show of goodwill, Hades accepts the let his new bride Persephone come back to the Moral Realm a few months a year so that she can spend time with her beloved mother. Maybe he expected her to go back to her family for the summer vacations...like she once did. 

In another version, Demeter was actually a possessive mom who smothered her daughter, until Hades fell in love with her and granted her safe haven in his realm. That sounded more like it. 

She couldn’t bring herself to apologize to Renée. She knew that she had gone too far when she exploded the day before, and that her mother was still gravely hurt by her words. But her guilt was only made worse by the knowledge that she had meant every single word of it. This time, this one time, she wanted to stay true to herself. 

She had thought about it long and hard for hours during the night, and if she was perfectly honest with herself, part of her didn’t want to apologize because of what her mother told her at the end of their argument. 

_“Maybe it was a mistake, you coming back here.”_

She had never had a rebelling phase during her early teenage years. Renée always told her how “mature” she was, probably to make her feel obligated to live up to that label. And so, she did. She was always the responsible one, and never spoke out of turn. Yet, in one day, one argument, Renée had given up on her. You’re eighteen now. Maybe it’s time. 

She never had stood a chance. Even with a daughter trying to graduate High School, even with a daughter who came back from her first day at her new high school with a pamphlet on eating disorders because her appearance had granted her an appointment with the school nurse, even with a daughter in therapy because she can’t get over.... In any circumstances, Renée was going to choose herself. Always.

So, Bella decided it was time she did the same. As selfish as it was, she would not try to make Renée feel good about herself anymore. She would not apologize to give her the satisfaction of deciding if she would forgive her or not. Maybe she was in her rebelling phase. Better late than never. 

Renée gaze was burning he forehead as she examined the brochure on the University of Pisa. She clapped it shut and met her gaze with intense seriousness, almost defiance. 

“It would seem that I have been accepted to the University of Pisa, in Italy on full scholarship. I’m expected to move in the campus tomorrow night.”

Renée stood her gaze a moment, and went back to her coffee “Don’t be ridiculous, Bella, you haven’t even graduated yet.” 

Strange, Bella thought. She expected Renée to be thrilled she had a reason to leave. But maybe she didn’t expect her to actually go through with it. Not somewhere permanent and...so far away. Not Italy, where she herself had always wanted to go. She could still remember how she had been, when she first told her about moving to Jacksonville. She was certain that she would come running once she called back for her. _Leave when you’re a burden, come back when you’re needed for emotional support._ No more. 

“Actually,” Bella said with a smirk, “I have you to thank for that.” 

That would always get her full attention, but she didn’t fully buy it, as Bella’s gaze transpired no form of gratitude. “Remember when you put me through the Advanced Program, in hope that I would graduate faster?” 

Renée said nothing, so Bella continued, “Well, though Forks didn’t have an Advanced program, the University considered my grades and decided that enrolling me a semester early with a few extra classes could do the trick, if I wished to do so.”

“But-” 

“And I do. Wish to start early.” her eyes showed nothing but steel determination “You were right, mom: Maybe it is time.” 

Renée tried to keep a poker face, but her coffee mug lost some of its stability in her hand and she had to put it down on the table. She wiped her mouth, certainly to get a few more second to compose herself “You still have therapy.”

“I can arrange with Dr O’Neil, maybe she’ll accept to do it remotely on the phone or with Skype.”

“That would be awfully inconsiderate, Bella. Think of what this would do to her schedule, having to adapt to the time zone and the technical difficulties for your sake” 

It was almost funny, Bella thought, how easy it was to spot her manipulation. _Don’t be ridiculous, that’s inconsiderate…._ Making her doubt herself. Was she always like that? How did she not see it? And why could she see it now? 

“Maybe Dr O’Neil won’t want to adapt, you’re right.” Bella said calmly “It’s okay, we don’t have to continue the treatment together. I will find a therapist who will.” 

“Your dad is paying for her, you know that? Do you realize how ungrateful that would be to just wave away his gift, to just leave behind everything we’ve done for you just so you can go to Italy a few months earlier?” Renée’s eyes shot burning lasers at her face. Bella crossed her arms and tried to remain as calm as possible. 

“If Charlie is paying for her, he would probably also pay for any other therapist who would meet my criteria. His goal is **_my well-being_** first and foremost, and if I say I’ll have a better shot at being happy in Italy, then he’ll probably just be supportive and would genuinely wish me the best.”

Renée scoffed and spat bitterly “Right, your Dad is perfect, isn’t he? Best Dad Ever, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes” _Come on, just try me on this. I dare you._

There was a moment of silence between them, as Renée never really experienced Bella taking Charlie’s side over hers before, and panic was starting to pulse in her. 

“Do you really hate me that much?” She asked, her eyes tearing up “Do you really think I deserve to be treated like this?” She grabbed a tissue from the box on the corner of the table. She had to show her what she was doing to her mother. How could she be this cruel? 

Bella only squinted and sighed “No Renée. Once again, this is not about you. I am just doing what I’ve seen you do all my life: I’m putting myself first. My health, my future, my opportunities. And frankly, I don’t see myself getting better if I have to take care of **you** as well. You have Phil now. I left so you could be happy with him. I came to live her with you guys because Charlie thought I needed a change of scenery and he was right. Just, not here. I’m going, Renée, and there is nothing you can say that would persuade me to stay.”

xXx

Unsurprisingly, Susan was more than happy to switch their arrangement to Skype video sessions, and she congratulated her on her early admission to the University. She didn’t know yet what she was going to major in, and would study the pamphlet extensively in the plane. They had a long conversation about the argument with Renée, and though Susan did congratulate her as well on finally expressing her true feelings, she did mention something that put threw her off balance. 

_“It would seem that you have crystalized your anger on your mother. From what you say she did neglect you for years and is still quite childish and self-centered now, but I wonder if when you were talking to her, you weren’t also thinking of somebody else. Someone who was always forcing you to adapt to his needs, regardless of your emotions. Someone who made you feel unsafe, perhaps?”_

She couldn’t agree to that. Susan didn’t know the full story, which made if understandable for her to draw the wrong conclusions. If anything, he was the one to always adapt to her. She was the one...lacking. Too slow, too weak, too...mortal. She’s be dead for now, if it wasn’t for him.

And yet, in a corner of her mind, protected by Edward’s voice, something she said to her mother sometimes shone bright like a gem under water

_“If you hadn’t taught me to never speak up, never exist; always please others, always fucking sacrifice everything I feel, like it’s my sacred duty in this mortal existence I would have never, never, NEVER!”_

Never what? 

Susan didn’t insist, but Bella knew the subject would come back at some point. She was getting to know her therapist, even if it had been only three weeks. If she was being honest, she would have been disappointed to change for some other doctor. Susan was starting to grow on her. 

Convincing Charlie was another thing. 

“Italy? You’re going to Italy?”

“Yes, dad,” Bella said, using the ‘dad’ on purpose to win him over “it’s great isn’t it?”’

She explained all the technical details once again, and fortunately he seemed to think they made some sense.

“You’ll come back and visit, right?” 

“Yes, Charlie. I will” she promised, hoping she’d be able to keep her word. "But it will be alright, you don't have to worry."

"It doesn't have anything to do with Cull-- with them, right? "

"What? No! Absolutely not, Charlie I'm doing this for me. I want to go. " 

How could he imagine she would take a flight to Italy just to join them, she thought with a tight pain on her chest at the mention of their name. 

Because she would have. Honestly if they had called her, instead of Caius, and told her they wanted her back. She would have come. 

For the first time, part of her saw how pathetic that sounded. But she would just accept anything to be back together with… with her family. Whichever one would claim her first. The Volturi did, so she'd go to them. It was that simple. She would have to talk to Susan about that, she decided, making a mental note to herself. 

She actually heard Charlie smile on the other end of the phone line "you want to go. Bella in only three weeks you actually want to do something. Not just anything, enrolling in university, changing your life."

"I… guess so. Why, is this weird? " Is This suspicious? 

"No, just… I'm proud of you, Bella." His voice was hoarse «You really had me worried you know" But was he crying? Bella felt like tearing up herself

"I know Dad. I'm sorry. You were right, about me needing change, and help" She sniffed loudly "thank you Dad. "

"You… you know I… I love you, Bella. And that I’ll always be just a phone call away"

Oh gosh but this was harder than she thought it'll be. "Yeah. Me too Dad. Call me anytime. I love you too. "

"And you better visit! Don't go all European forgetting your old man here"

"I won't, I promise" She said in between sobs. 

After that, it took Bella a moment before she was strong enough to open her suitcase. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dear Reader  
> Gosh, it’s dusty in here  
> I’m team Charlie, how about you? 
> 
> This was a great week, and I’m really glad more of you keep reading this fiction and adding it to your favorites. Please don’t hesitate to post a small review, I read them all with absolute pleasure. 
> 
> Now I wish you a great weekend, stay safe, and see you on Monday.


End file.
